All iPads My job requires me to use an iPad exclusively, but what size do I need?

[TorontoJen]

Hi everyone!

I annotate PDF's with iAnnotate on an iPad for my daily freelance job. Currently, I own a 9th gen iPad, but I'll admit, I'm concerned about screen size, especially in the long run. Right now I run it in Split View, with my PDF on the left, notes on the right, and a slide over Safari panel for research. I feel a bit guilty even considering a bigger iPad when I have all the tools I need for my job, but the idea of staring at 10.2 screen all day going through hundreds of pages as things get busier has me a bit worried about the lack of screen real estate.
Is this a genuinely good use case for an upgrade to a larger screen? I'm not someone who needs all the power of the pro, but the size increase might be helpful.

Has anyone been in a similar situation where they ended up upgrading? I could just consider plugging it into a monitor if I need a bigger screen, I suppose.

Still, I would like to hear your opinions! Thanks in advance.

 

[sparksd]

I went from the Air 2 to the 10.5" iPad to a 12.9 and now the M1 12.9. I really like the added screen size and other than the cellular Mini 6 I also have, I don't see ever going back to a smaller display.

 

[KaliYoni]

I could just consider plugging it into a monitor if I need a bigger screen, I suppose.

Still, I would like to hear your opinions!

I'd say if you do most of your work in one location, a monitor makes a lot of sense. A large monitor will provide much more viewing real estate than any iPad and, perhaps most importantly, will be much less affected by Apple's (relatively short) obsolescence timetable on its hardware products.

 

[chrfr]

Has anyone been in a similar situation where they ended up upgrading? I could just consider plugging it into a monitor if I need a bigger screen, I suppose.

An external display would just mirror your iPad's screen, larger. Only the iPads that have M1 or M2 chips can use the external display as a separate screen.

 

[Slartibart]

An M1-Air and Stage Manager will have you covered. Yes, the 12.9” iPP are even much more enjoy for the workflow you describe, but the Air and Stage Manager (plus the optional second monitor) will be a great upgrade to improve the efficiency of your workflow.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Agreed, you want M1 not necessarily for the speed, but for external display capability. I have a 12.9” myself but it is pricey, I guess it depends on how much you’re paid for this work.

 

[iPadified]

Hi everyone!

I annotate PDF's with iAnnotate on an iPad for my daily freelance job. Currently, I own a 9th gen iPad, but I'll admit, I'm concerned about screen size, especially in the long run. Right now I run it in Split View, with my PDF on the left, notes on the right, and a slide over Safari panel for research. I feel a bit guilty even considering a bigger iPad when I have all the tools I need for my job, but the idea of staring at 10.2 screen all day going through hundreds of pages as things get busier has me a bit worried about the lack of screen real estate.
Is this a genuinely good use case for an upgrade to a larger screen? I'm not someone who needs all the power of the pro, but the size increase might be helpful.

Has anyone been in a similar situation where they ended up upgrading? I could just consider plugging it into a monitor if I need a bigger screen, I suppose.

Still, I would like to hear your opinions! Thanks in advance.

Hi TorontoJen,

Are you using a pencil to annotate the pdfs? If so, the external screen solution suggested by others seems less user friendly. I use a 2020 12.9 for work because of the screen real estate not the SoC performance to annotate thousands of pages of PhD, MSc theses and student reports per year using a pencil. Smaller iPads would not be usable for me as I would simply not be able to see the smaller text. Zooming takes too much time.

All comes down to economy and return of investment.

 

[ipos]

Looks like a bigger screen is better for your work and if weight is not an issue, go for 12.9’

 

[throAU]

I annotate PDF's with iAnnotate on an iPad for my daily freelance job.

That’s all i need to read to suggest getting a 12.9. If its for making money with and doing that particular workload, go large.

 

[Nhwhazup]

If mobility is not key, go for the larger iPad.

 

[TorontoJen]

Hi TorontoJen,

Are you using a pencil to annotate the pdfs? If so, the external screen solution suggested by others seems less user friendly. I use a 2020 12.9 for work because of the screen real estate not the SoC performance to annotate thousands of pages of PhD, MSc theses and student reports per year using a pencil. Smaller iPads would not be usable for me as I would simply not be able to see the smaller text. Zooming takes too much time.

All comes down to economy and return of investment.

 

[TorontoJen]

I only use the pencil as a stylus. Most of my annotations are stamps I have created, highlights, or occasionally typing out a correction. The extra screen real estate would be nice.

I am also having an issue where sometimes, half of the iPad turns blue on the right side of the screen when I am in split view. Does anyone know if this is an iPad glitch? I'm suspecting RAM, but maybe its just an iPad bug.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

 

[Isamilis]

I’d suggest (since you don’t really use Pencil):

1. iPad Pro 12.9
2. M2 MacBook Air 13“ or 15”

I switched from using iPad (and Magic Keyboard) to MBA. It gets the job done reliably with full computer capability plus full keyboard, extra screen & extra battery (15-18 hrs). PDF expert can do stamp annotations as well.

 

[throAU]

I only use the pencil as a stylus. Most of my annotations are stamps I have created, highlights, or occasionally typing out a correction. The extra screen real estate would be nice.

I am also having an issue where sometimes, half of the iPad turns blue on the right side of the screen when I am in split view. Does anyone know if this is an iPad glitch? I'm suspecting RAM, but maybe its just an iPad bug.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

I have not seen this glitch, so it may be a problem with your iPad.

I've used split screen on a 10.5" pro and gen5 Air.

 

[Yebubbleman]

If size is an issue and a 9th Generation iPad with a 10.2-inch display is too cramped for you, odds are decent you won't have that much better of a ride with a 10th Generation iPad/4th or 5th Generation iPad Air/11-inch iPad Pro either. Incidentally, what you do seems to be the kind of thing that would be better done on a Mac and the only iPad that seems like it has any real claim to be able to carry out the kind of work done on a Mac (from the standpoint of being an ergonomically comfortable device on which to do so) is the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

 

[rui no onna]

I am also having an issue where sometimes, half of the iPad turns blue on the right side of the screen when I am in split view. Does anyone know if this is an iPad glitch? I'm suspecting RAM, but maybe its just an iPad bug.

I haven't seen this glitch either but I've occasionally had my split view apps continuously crash and reload until I either exit split view or restart the iPad (2017 iPad Pro).

Granted, now that I have better devices on hand, I rarely do split view on 4GB or less.

 

[Slartibart]

I am also having an issue where sometimes, half of the iPad turns blue on the right side of the screen when I am in split view. Does anyone know if this is an iPad glitch? I'm suspecting RAM, but maybe its just an iPad bug.

On which version of iPadOS? There is a One of the bugs (😁) in the iPadOS 17 beta is that if you put 2 apps side by side in splitview, and then switch to another app, half of its interface might not be visible (what colour the “empty” space has depends on the app and wether you use dark mode or not).

 

[spiderman0616]

If I were doing my job exclusively on an iPad as you are, I would go for the 12.9" iPad Pro. You are clearly the kind of professional these are designed for. As far as feeling guilty, you should not. If you require a specific tool to do your job and that job is made easier by a bigger screen, by all means, go for it! Hopefully you enjoy this job, because if you do, the difference in price will pay for itself in the long run.

EDIT: I wanted to add that I plug my iPad mini 6 into my computer display all the time and use it with my keyboard and mouse. It's usually if I just need to babysit something for work or bang out a quick email, but it's more than suitable in a pinch. I love that they added USB-C to the mini--it's my favorite feature.

 

[TorontoJen]

On which version of iPadOS? There is a One of the bugs (😁) in the iPadOS 17 beta is that if you put 2 apps side by side in splitview, and then switch to another app, half of its interface might not be visible (what colour the “empty” space has depends on the app and wether you use dark mode or not).

I use iOS 16.latest version, lol. However, I found out that it's a bug in the app I use, which is good because I thought it was lack of RAM. Granted, I do a lot of multitasking and have had some crashes, so there's that...

Also, sheesh! Hope they fix THAT bug. Yikes.

 

[TorontoJen]

i got the 12.9 M2! now to set it up...
Thanks everyone for all the insight.

 

[spiderman0616]

i got the 12.9 M2! now to set it up...
Thanks everyone for all the insight.

Congrats on the new iPad! The 12.9" models are so great for apps like Procreate, Affinity suite, LumaFusion, and so many other things. You'll love it.